should i install optional windows 7 updates

You may get updates for libraries and runtime components you’ve never heard of, like the.

You may get updates for Internet Explorer even if you’ve turned it off or don’t use it, because components of Internet Explorer are used by other Microsoft software, including Windows itself.

There are several scenarios where this can happen, the most common being dependencies you didn’t realize existed.

What that means is that if an update was installed by Microsoft Update, it was needed at the time the update occurred. Microsoft Update installs updates you didn’t know you needed In practice, the number of different configurations that people might have, as well as interactions and dependencies between the software programs they have installed, can make this a very intricate process.īut the important take-away is simply this: Microsoft Update goes through a lot of work to offer you the updates you need, and only the updates you need. It downloads and installs those updates that it determines are needed.Īgain, it’s all pretty simple in concept.It queries the Microsoft update service to determine if there are any more recent updates for the software you have installed.It inventories what software you have installed, and what updates you already have installed for that software.Here’s what Windows Update, and Microsoft Update, does.

Microsoft Update gives you only what you need The update process for it can be almost as complicated as updating the operating system itself. While that seems simple in concept, Microsoft Office is a pretty complex piece of software. What that really means for most people is that it simply adds Microsoft Office to the list of software to be updated. “Microsoft Update” is an extension to Windows Update (a program included in Windows) that expands the reach of the update process to include all Microsoft products, not just Windows itself. The issue, like the software involved, is complex. Unless you have some reason to believe that they’re causing a problem, I would not.

Should i install optional windows 7 updates